Arrangement for installing battens on
panelled roofs and walls



Sept 19, 3%? E. T. BERG 3,341,999

ARRANGEMENT FOR INSTALLING BATTENS ON PANELLED ROOFS AND WALLS Filed May 18, 1965 ZNVENTOR. Edward 7." Berg United States Patent 3,341,999 ARRANGEMENT FOR INSTALLING BATTENS 0N PANELLED ROOFS AND WALLS Edward T. Berg, 187 Fremont St., San Francisco, Calif. 94105 Filed May 18, 1965, Ser. No. 456,673 3 Claims. (Cl. 52-395) ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A cover arrangement for roofs and walls comprising inverted channel members of U-shaped cross-sectional contour provided with outwardly turned end flanges that are secured to the surface of the roof or floor. Blocks of insulating material rest upon said flanges and placed over said blocks are panels in the form of inverted trays provided with outwardly turned peripheral lips that overlie the bight portions of the inverted channel members. A pad of a plastic sealing material is placed upon said lips in the space between the confronted side walls of each two adjacent panels, a bar is placed upon said pad, and mounting clips of U-shaped cross-sectional contour are supported at suitable intervals upon said bar by screw means which pass through the bight portion of said clips, said bar and said pad of sealing compound, and which are engaged in the bight portion of the inverted channel members underneath and in this manner hold the whole assembly to the roof or wall. The leg portions of the clips are turned outwardly and downwardly to form downwardly open guide channels which are slida-bly engaged by guide strips formed along the bottom edges of battens of arch-shaped cross-sectional contour. These guide strips are formed by turning the pier portions of said arch-shaped batterns upwardly.

The present invention relates to roofs and walls that are covered with panels of sheet metal or plastic materials. The present invention aims to provide a simple arrangement for covering the joints of the panels of such roofs or walls with ornamental batten-s.

The invention will be better understood from the following description of the accompanying drawings which illustrate a preferred embodiment thereof and wherein FIGURE 1 is a fragmentary perspective of a panel covered roof provided with the arrangement of the invention for installing battens,

FIGURE 2 is a fragmentary cross section of the structure shown in FIGURE 1 with a batten installed; and

FIGURE 3 is a fragmentary plan view of a panel covered roof with battens in accordance with the invention.

In the embodiment of the invention illustrated in the accompanying drawing dished panels of sheet metal or plastic material i.e. panels in the form of shallow, rectangular, inverted trays are placed over and laminated onto rectangular blocks 12 of a suitable insulating material, such as the material known as Fesco Board. Said blocks are placed at either side of an inverted channel member 14 of U-shaped cross-sectional contour which may be made from-sheet metal or a suitable plastic sheet material and whose side walls 16a and 16b are provided with outwardly directed flanges 18a and 18b respectively. Said flanges are of a substantial width and are rigidly secured to the surface of a roof or wall 20, such as by means of nails 22 driven through the flanges (FIGURE 2), and the blocks 12 are placed so closely to the side walls of the channel member 14 that they actually rest upon the flanges 18a and 18!) thereof. As pointed out above, the panels are dished i.e. have the form of shallow inverted trays and have side walls 24 of limited depth that fit over the side Walls of the blocks 12 and which terminate in laterally directed lips 25 that overlie the flat outer surface of the bight portion 26 of the channel member 14. The width of said lips 25 is such that when two panel-covered blocks 12 are placed adjacent the opposite side walls of a channel member, as shown in both FIGURES 1 and 2, a space 28 is left between the confronted end edges of said lips. To seal the joint between adjacent panels in a weather-tight manner, a pad 30 of a suitable sealing compound, such as the synthetic rubber polyisobutylene is placed into the trough formed between the side walls of adjacent panels above the bight portion of the channel member, and a bar 32 of metal or plastic material and of lesser wi dth than the distance between the panel side walls is placed upon the pad 30; and by means of screws 34 which pass through apertures in the bar 32, penetrate the pad 30 and engage apertures in the bight portion of the channel member the bar 32 is secured to the bight portion of the channel while exerting much pressure upon the deformable pad 30 as will squeeze the bar 32 into the plastic pad 30 until the upper surface of said bar is flush with the surfaces of the panels 10. Thus, a weather-tight seal is established between adjacent panels. It will be understood that by arranging channel members of the described type along every one of the sides of the panel-covered blocks 12 and by providing every side of the panels with the described lips 25, weather-tight seals may readily be established all around the panel-covered blocks by placing pads 30 of a plastic sealing compound into the troughs between the panels and by securing pressure bars 32 to the bight portion of the channel members in the manner explained above.

It is frequently desired for reasons of appearance, that ornamental battens be installed over at least some of the described joints between adjacent panels, and the present invention provides a simple and inexpensive arrangement for installing such battens over the joints, which requires a minimum of additional components and which enables unskilled workmen to install the battens in a minimum of time and with a minimum of effort when and wherever desired. Said arrangement comprises batten hol ders 36 that are provided at intervals longitudinally of the joints (FIGURE 3) in a position straddling said joints (FIG URE 2) and which may be secured in place by the same screws 34 that secure the pressure bars 32 to the channel members 14. Having reference to both FIGURES 1 and 2, said batten holders may be made of sheet material and have the form of brackets or clips of U-shaped cross-sectional contour whose bight member 38 is flat and is big enough to span the space between the side walls 24 of adjacent panels. The upwardly directed leg portions 40a.

and 40b ofsaid clips are bent outwardly and downwardly in the manner of hair pins with their end edges located at a somewhat higher level than the level of the bight portion 36. The described clips are located at suitable intervals along the joints that are to be covered with battens, and their bight portions may be provided with centrally located apertures so that the clips may be secured in place by the same screws 34 that hold the pressure bars 32 in position above the pads of sealing compound 30, at the time the seals are established between adjacent panels in the manner described above.

The battens 42 may also be made of sheet material, such as sheet metal or sheets of plastic material and may have the cross-sectional contour of an arch such as illustrated by way of example in FIGURES 1 and 2. Their pier portions 44a and 44b are parallel with each other and are spaced apart a distance slightly larger than the distance between the outer surfaces of the downwardly turned end portions of the legs of the clips 36 so that they will fit over the clips. At their bottoms the pier portions 44a and 44b of the battens are bent inwardly and upwardly to form guide strips 46a and 46b, respectively, that may be slidably engaged into the channels 45a and 45b formed by the downwardly turned end portions of the legs44a and 44b of the clips. To install a batten over a panel joint provided with the clips of my invention, it is merely necessary to align its end with a clip located at the edge of a Wall or roof, and push its guide strips 46a and 4612 into engagement with the guide channels 45a and 45b, respectively, of the clip (FIGURE 2), and then slide the batten in a direction longitudinally of the joint through the clip, and consecutively into engagement with and through the other clips that may be provided across the joint, until it reaches its final position upon the roof or wall.

The batten holders of the invention are of simple and inexpensive construction and are easy to install in their proper positions; and once they are installed, it is easy to mount the battens Wherever desired in the manner described above; and while they serve to improve the appearance of a roof or wall, they do not have to form a weather-tight seal with the panels, because the seals established between adjacent panels underneath the battens, as described hereinbefore, are thoroughly weatherproof.

While I have described my invention with the aid of a particular embodiment thereof, it will be understood that the invention is not limited to the specific constructional details shown and described by way of example, which may be departed from without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.

I claim:

1. A cover arrangement for the surfaces of roofs and walls comprising an inverted channel member having a bight portion and having the end edges of its side walls turned outwardly to form flanges resting on the surface of the roof or floor, panels of sheet material in the form of inverted trays having outwardly turned peripheral lips arranged adjacent said channel member with said lips overlying the bight portion of said channel member, a pad of a plastic sealing material arranged upon said lips and the bight portion of said channel member in the space between the confronted side walls of said panels, a bar arranged upon said pad, a batten holder in the form of a U-shaped clip having a bight portion supported upon said bar, the legs of said clip being turned outwardly upon themselves to form guide channels, screw means passing through the bight portion of said holder, said bar and said pad of sealing material and engaged in the bight portion of said channel member, and a batten of the cross-sectional contour of an arch having its pier portions turned inwardly in the manner of a hair pin to form guide strips, said batten being placed over the joint between the panels and over said batten holder with said guide strips thereof slidably engaged in the guide channels of said holder.

2. A cover arrangement for the surfaces of roofs and walls comprising an inverted channel member of U- shaped cross-sectional contour having a bight portion and having the end edges of its side walls turned outwardly to form flanges resting on the surface of the roof or floor, blocks of insulating material adjacent said channel member supported upon said flanges thereof, panels of a sheet material in the form of inverted trays having outwardly turned peripheral lips placed over and secured to the outer surfaces of said blocks with said lips overlying the bight portion of said inverted channel member, a pad of a plastic sealing material arranged upon said lips and the bight portion of said channel member in the space between the confronted side walls of said panels, a bar arranged upon said pad, a batten holder in the form of a U-shaped clip having a flat bight portion supported upon said bar and being of a length transversely of said bar to span the space between the adjacent panels, the legs of said clip being turned outwardly upon themselves in the manner of hair pins to form guide channels, means passing through the bight portion of said holder, said bar and said pad of sealing material and engaged in the bight portion of said channel member to seal the joint between the adjacent panels in a weathertight manner and to hold said batten holder firmly in position, and a batten of the cross-sectional contour of an arch having its pier portions turned inwardly in the manner of a hair pin to form guide strips, said batten being placed over the joint between the panels and over said batten holder with said guide strips thereof slidably engaged in the guide channels of said holder.

3. A cover arrangement for the surfaces of roofs and walls comprising an inverted channel member of U-shaped cross-sectional contour having a bight portion and having the end edges of its side walls turned outwardly to form flanges resting on the surface of the roof or fioor, blocks of insulating material adjacent said channel member supported upon said flanges thereof, panels of a sheet material in the form of inverted trays placed over and secured to the outer surfaces of said blocks and having side walls provided with outwardly turned lips overlying the bight portion of said channel member, said lips being of such width as to leave a free space between their confronted edges, a pad of a plastic sealing material arranged in the space between the confronted side walls of said panels upon the lips thereof, a bar of lesser width than the distance between the confronted side walls of the panels arranged upon said pad, a batten holder in the form of a U-shaped clip having a flat bight portion supported upon said bar and being of a length transversely of said bar to span the space between the adjacent panels and rest upon the edge areas thereof, the legs of said clip being turned outwardly upon themselves in the manner of hair pins to form guide channels, screw means passing through the bight portion of said holder, said bar and said pad of sealing material and between said lips and engaged in the bight portion of said channel member to seal the joint between the adjacent panels in a Weather tight manner and hold said batten holder firmly in position, and an arch-shaped batten of sheet material having its pier portions turned inwardly in the manner of a hair pin to form guide strips, said batten being arranged over the joint between the panels and over said batten holder with said guide strips thereof slidably engaged in the guide channels of said holder.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 854,235 5/1907 Plass 52-461 X 2,526,727 10/1950 Bull 52461 X 2,855,871 10/ 1958 Huntington 5246l 2,907,287 10/ 1959 Trostle 52-461 X FOREIGN PATENTS 209,725 2/ 1956 Australia.

FRANK L. ABBOTT, Primary Examiner.

M. O. WARNECKE, Assistant Examiner. 

1. A COVER ARRANGEMENT FOR THE SURFACES OF ROOFS AND WALLS COMPRISING AN INVERTED CHANNEL MEMBER HAVING A BIGHT PORTION AND HAVING THE END EDGES OF ITS SIDE WALL TURNED OUTWARDLY TO FORM FLANGES RESTING ON THE SURFACE OF THE ROOF OR FLOOR, PANELS OF SHEET MATERIAL IN THE FORM OF INVERTED TRAYS HAVING OUTWARDLY TURNED PERIPHERAL LIPS ARRANGED ADJACENT SAID CHANNEL MEMBER WITH SAID LIPS OVERLYING THE BIGHT PORTION OF SAID CHANNEL MEMBER, A PAD OF A PLASTIC SEALING MATERIAL ARRANGED UPON SAID LIPS AND THE BIGHT PORTION OF SAID CHANNEL MEMBER IN THE SPACE BETWEEN THE CONFRONTED SIDE WALLS OF THE SAID PANELS, A BAR ARRANGED UPON SAID PAD, A BATTEN HOLDER IN THE FORM OF A U-SHAPED CLIP HAVING A BIGHT PORTION SUP- 